Mechanism for facilitating dynamic visual workflow and task generation in an on-demand services environment

ABSTRACT

In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms and methods for facilitating dynamic generating of visual workflow and corresponding tasks in an on-demand services environment. In one embodiment and by way of example, a method includes receiving a request to perform a business process at a computing system. The performing of the business process may include creating a new business process relating to workings of an organization. The method may further include interpreting content of the request, and dynamically generating a visual workflow in response to the interpretation of the content of the request. The visual workflow may be used to perform the business process.

CLAIM OF PRIORITY

This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional PatentApplication No. 61/419,791, entitled “A Visual flow Designer” by StevenWood et al., filed Dec. 3, 2010 (Attorney Docket No. 8956P044Z), theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference andpriority is claimed thereof.

COPYRIGHT NOTICE

A portion of the disclosure of this patent document contains materialwhich is subject to copyright protection. The copyright owner has noobjection to the facsimile reproduction by anyone of the patent documentor the patent disclosure, as it appears in the Patent and TrademarkOffice patent file or records, but otherwise reserves all copyrightrights whatsoever.

TECHNICAL FIELD

One or more implementations relate generally to data management and,more specifically, to a mechanism for facilitating dynamic visualworkflow and task generation in an on-demand services environment havinga multi-tenant database system.

BACKGROUND

It is well-known that businesses (e.g., profit-based companies,non-profit organizations, etc.) continuously need new or updatedbusiness processes (e.g., service processes, sales processes, etc.) torun and perform efficiently. However, conventionally, business processesare employed and/or updated manually which requires cumbersome newcoding or software development each time a new business process isemployed or a change is made to an existing business process at anorganization. Further, in most cases, an expensive and dedicatedenvironment or infrastructure may also be needed to employ new or updateexisting business processes.

The subject matter discussed in the background section should not beassumed to be prior art merely as a result of its mention in thebackground section. Similarly, a problem mentioned in the backgroundsection or associated with the subject matter of the background sectionshould not be assumed to have been previously recognized in the priorart. The subject matter in the background section merely representsdifferent approaches, which in and of themselves may also be inventions.

In conventional database systems, users access their data resources inone logical database. A user of such a conventional system typicallyretrieves data from and stores data on the system using the user's ownsystems. A user system might remotely access one of a plurality ofserver systems that might in turn access the database system. Dataretrieval from the system might include the issuance of a query from theuser system to the database system. The database system might processthe request for information received in the query and send to the usersystem information relevant to the request. The secure and efficientretrieval of accurate information and subsequent delivery of thisinformation to the user system has been and continues to be a goal ofadministrators of database systems. Unfortunately, conventional databaseapproaches are associated with various limitations.

SUMMARY

In accordance with embodiments, there are provided mechanisms andmethods for facilitating dynamic generating of visual workflow andcorresponding tasks in an on-demand services environment. In oneembodiment and by way of example, a method includes receiving a requestto perform a business process at a computing system. The performing ofthe business process may include creating a new business processrelating to workings of an organization. The method may further includeinterpreting content of the request, and dynamically generating a visualworkflow in response to the interpretation of the content of therequest. The visual workflow may be used to perform the businessprocess.

While the present invention is described with reference to an embodimentin which techniques for facilitating management of data in an on-demandservices environment are implemented in a system having an applicationserver providing a front end for an on-demand database service capableof supporting multiple tenants, the present invention is not limited tomulti-tenant databases nor deployment on application servers.Embodiments may be practiced using other database architectures, i.e.,ORACLE®, DB2® by IBM and the like without departing from the scope ofthe embodiments claimed.

Any of the above embodiments may be used alone or together with oneanother in any combination. Inventions encompassed within thisspecification may also include embodiments that are only partiallymentioned or alluded to or are not mentioned or alluded to at all inthis brief summary or in the abstract. Although various embodiments ofthe invention may have been motivated by various deficiencies with theprior art, which may be discussed or alluded to in one or more places inthe specification, the embodiments of the invention do not necessarilyaddress any of these deficiencies. In other words, different embodimentsof the invention may address different deficiencies that may bediscussed in the specification. Some embodiments may only partiallyaddress some deficiencies or just one deficiency that may be discussedin the specification, and some embodiments may not address any of thesedeficiencies.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In the following drawings like reference numbers are used to refer tolike elements. Although the following figures depict various examples,one or more implementations are not limited to the examples depicted inthe figures.

FIG. 1 illustrates a computing system employing a dynamic workflowmechanism according to one embodiment;

FIG. 2 illustrates a dynamic visual workflow mechanism employed at acomputing device according to one embodiment;

FIGS. 3A-3F and 3H illustrate a transaction sequence for dynamically andautomatically generating a visual workflow and its corresponding taskusing a visual workflow mechanism according to one embodiment;

FIG. 3G illustrates a task that is dynamically automatically generatedbased on the visual workflow of FIGS. 3A-3F according to one embodiment;

FIG. 3I illustrates an interactive visual workflow that is dynamicallyautomatically generated based on the visual workflow of FIGS. 3A-3Faccording to one embodiment;

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for dynamically and automatically generatingvisual workflows and their corresponding tasks using a dynamic visualworkflow mechanism according to one embodiment;

FIG. 5 illustrates a computer system according to one embodiment;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an environment wherein anon-demand database service might be used according to one embodiment;and

FIG. 7 illustrates a block diagram of an embodiment of elements ofenvironment of FIG. 6 and various possible interconnections betweenthese elements according to one embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Methods and systems are provided for facilitating dynamic generating ofvisual workflow and corresponding tasks in an on-demand servicesenvironment. In one embodiment and by way of example, a method includesreceiving a request to perform a business process at a computing system.The performing of the business process may include creating a newbusiness process relating to workings of an organization. The method mayfurther include interpreting content of the request, and dynamicallygenerating a visual workflow in response to the interpretation of thecontent of the request. The visual workflow may be used to perform thebusiness process.

As used herein, a term multi-tenant database system refers to thosesystems in which various elements of hardware and software of thedatabase system may be shared by one or more customers. For example, agiven application server may simultaneously process requests for a greatnumber of customers, and a given database table may store rows for apotentially much greater number of customers. As used herein, the termquery plan refers to a set of steps used to access information in adatabase system.

Next, mechanisms and methods for dynamic visual flow and task generationin an on-demand service environment having a multi-tenant databasesystem will be described with reference to example embodiments.

FIG. 1 illustrates a computing system employing a dynamic visualworkflow mechanism according to one embodiment of the invention. In oneembodiment, a computing device 100 serves as a host machine hosting adynamic visual workflow mechanism (“workflow mechanism”) 110 tofacilitate dynamic, customized, and efficient generation of visualworkflows and their corresponding tasks relating to business processesat an organization without having to require a new code/software and/ora dedicated environment/infrastructure. Computing device 100 serving asa host machine may include large computing devices, such as servercomputers, desktop computers, cluster-based computers, laptop computingdevices (e.g., notebooks, netbooks, etc.), set-top boxes (e.g.,Internet-based cable television set-top boxes, etc.), and the like.Computing device 100 and other computing devices (serving as clientcomputing devices) discussed in this document may also include mobilecomputing devices, such as cellular phones including smartphones (e.g.,iPhone®, BlackBerry®, etc.), handheld computing devices, personaldigital assistants (PDAs), etc., tablet computers (e.g., iPad®, Samsung®Galaxy Tab®, etc.), laptop computers, e-readers (e.g., Kindle®, Nook®,etc.), etc.

Computing device 100 includes an operating system 106 serving as aninterface between any hardware or physical resources of the computerdevice 100 and a user. Computing device 100 further includes one or moreprocessors 102, memory devices 104, network devices, drivers, or thelike, as well as input/output sources 108, such as touchscreens, touchpanels, touch pads, virtual or regular keyboards, virtual or regularmice, etc. It is to be noted that terms like “node”, “computing node”,“client”, “server”, “machine”, “host machine”, “device”, “computingdevice”, “computer”, “computing system”, “multi-tenant on-demand datasystem”, and the like, are used interchangeably and synonymouslythroughout this document. It is to be further noted that terms like“application”, “software application”, “program”, “software program”,“package”, and “software package” are used interchangeably andsynonymously throughout this document.

FIG. 2 illustrates a dynamic visual workflow mechanism employed at acomputing device according to one embodiment. In one embodiment, dynamicvisual workflow mechanism 110 includes various components 202, 204, 206,208, 210 and 212 to offer a number of services to facilitate dynamic,customized, and efficient generation of visual workflow and their tasksrelating to business processes of an organization in a multi-tenantdatabase system in an on-demand services environment. Any reference to“organization” or “business” suggests a vendor subscribing to theworkflow mechanism 110, such as a profit-based company (e.g., aninsurance company, a healthcare company, a banking or financialinstitute, a grocery store, a law firm, an accounting firm, a smallbusiness, etc.), an educational institution (e.g., a college oruniversity, a high school, an elementary school, a daycare center,etc.), a government organization (e.g., a city government, a state andfederal government, etc.), a non-profit organization (e.g., anon-government organization (NGO), etc.), and the like. It iscontemplated that words or terms like “business”, “vendor”,“institution”, “organization”, and “business organization” are usedinterchangeably and synonymously throughout this document. A “businessprocess” refers to any number and type of business-related activitiesincluding sales processes, service processes, human resource processes,etc., that an organization employs to work efficiently and profitably.For example, a business process may include adding a new employee,placing sales calls to potential customers, employing a new salesmethodology, establishing new promotional interest rates, and the like.

Workflow mechanism 110 provides efficient solutions to various problems(e.g., inefficiency, high cost, manual coding, etc.) associated withconventional business process-related techniques. In one embodiment, theworkflow mechanism 110 empowers the user (e.g., an employee (such as asalesperson, an accountant, a human resource manager, a CentralFinancial Officer (CFO), a system administrator, an attorney, etc.), acontractor, an intern, a visitor, a volunteer, etc.) at the vendor- orclient-side to facilitate employing a new or updating an existingbusiness process (e.g., introducing new insurance rates, etc.) by simplyfacilitating dynamic generation and/or amendment of visual workflows andtheir corresponding business tasks relating to business processes at anorganization.

In one embodiment, the workflow mechanism 110 may be employed at a hostor server computing system (such as host machine 100 of FIG. 1) that isin communication, over a network, with any number and type of clientcomputing systems employed at various organizations. As will be furtherdescribed in this document, the network may include a cloud computingnetwork, an intranet, the Internet, a Local Area Network (LAN), a WideArea Network (WAN), a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), a Personal AreaNetwork (PAN), or the like.

In one embodiment, a receiving module 202 of the workflow mechanism 110at the host machine receives an indication of or a request forgenerating or updating a visual workflow relating to a business task bya user accessing an organization-based client computing device. Oncethis request is received, it is then sent to a processing unit 204 ofthe workflow mechanism 110. At the processing unit 204, an interpreter208 interprets the request by reading and analyzing the request todetermine the type of flow that is to be generated. For example, todistinguish between those potential customers of the organization whowish to be called back by someone at the organization as opposed tothose who do not wish to be contacted, the interpreter 208 may recommendincluding a decision block within the visual workflow to help determinea potential customer's wish regarding getting a call back. Thisrecommendation is provided to a flow generator 210 which thendynamically add the decision block and other relevant or resultingblocks (e.g., a true block, a false block, an if yes block, an if notblock, etc.) to the visual workflow.

In one embodiment, as the visual workflow is dynamically generated, anycorresponding tasks are automatically generated by a task generator 212and conveniently placed within the system so they can be made availableto the user to use and manipulate via a user interface. For example andin one embodiment, an interface module 206 may provide a user-friendlyuser interface (e.g., a Graphical User Interface (GUI)-based userinterface, etc.) on an organization-based client computing device sothat the user may perform the aforementioned processes of generatingand/or amending visual workflows using the workflow mechanism 110employed at the host machine. In one embodiment, the visual workflow andits corresponding tasks relating to various business processes aredynamically and automatically generated by the user at the organizationusing the workflow mechanism 110 without having to develop software codeand/or employ a dedicated software development environment to generate,amend and/or perform such business processes. This will be furtherillustrated and described with reference to FIGS. 3A-3I.

It is contemplated that any number and type of components may be addedto and removed from the workflow mechanism 110 to facilitate itsworkings and operability in facilitating dynamic generation andamendment of visual workflows and their corresponding tasks relating tobusiness processes within an organization in a multi-tenant databasesystem in an on-demand services environment. For brevity, clarity, easeof understanding and to focus on the workflow mechanism 110, many of theconventional or known components, such as those of a computing device,are not shown or discussed here.

FIGS. 3A-3F illustrate a transaction sequence for dynamically andautomatically generating a visual workflow and its corresponding taskusing a visual workflow mechanism according to one embodiment. FIG. 3Aillustrate a screenshot 300 representing a user interface providing amain menu to generate a sales workflow 314. For example, a user (e.g., asales agent) at a business organization that is, for example, in thebusiness of arranging with various associate service providers toprovide their services (e.g., plumbing services, accounting services,telecommunications services, legal services, dental/medical services,etc.) to its customers can access the aforementioned dynamic visualworkflow mechanism 110 of FIG. 1 via a user interface as illustrated bythe screenshot 300. For example, the user begins the sales workflow 314,as provided by a home option 302 (shown as a tab), to find and/orcontact potential customers that might be interested in seeking one ormore services provided by the associate service providers of thebusiness organization. Other options include, but are not limited to,leads 304, chatter 306, files 308, help 310, and miscellaneous 312, andthe like. It is contemplated that embodiments of the invention are notlimited to any of the features, options or processes, etc., illustratedhere as part of FIG. 3A or subsequently described with reference toFIGS. 3B-3I and that any number of options, features, and processes canbe added, removed or changed, as necessitated or desired, forfacilitating dynamic and automatic generation of visual workflows andtheir corresponding tasks to perform the relevant business processes.

Continuing with FIG. 3A, once the generation of the sales workflow 314is started, the user is given the option of establishing rapport 316 byinserting the first and last names 318, 320 of a potential customer. Thescreenshot 300 further provides a navigation option of moving betweenprevious and next screens 322, 324. Once the user has entered thenecessary information and clicks on next 324, the user is taken to thenext screen 326 to identify lead 328 in the visual workflow as shown byFIG. 3B. For brevity and simplicity, the repeated features of FIG. 3Aare not discussed here or in relation to the subsequent FIGS. 3C-3I. Theidentify lead process 328 of the sales workflow provides lead results330 based on the first and last names 318, 320 previously entered. Forexample, the user may be provided the option of the potential customernot found or found. If found, some identification information (e.g.,home address, etc.) 332 relating to the potential customer existing inthe system or database may be shown. For example, here, the home address332 of the potential customer is identified and selected by the user.Again, next 324 is clicked to move on to the next process, such asindustry interest 336 as shown by screenshot 334 of FIG. 3C.

As illustrated in FIG. 3C, the industry interest process 336 of thesales workflow 314 provides the user a number of service market options338 that might be of interest to the potential customer. Such marketoptions 338 may range from none to any number of service-based options,such as telecommunications 340, farming, government, health, insurance,etc. With regard to this example, since our exemplary businessorganization is in the business of working with its associate serviceproviders to provide services, let us say the potential customer isinterested in receiving telecommunications-related services and so theuser selects the option of telecommunications 340 and clicks next 324.

Once the telecommunications 340 is selected, the virtual workflow forsales 314 continues with options provided through the referenceimplementation process 344 via a screenshot 342 as shown with referenceto FIG. 3D. In other words and for example, the sales workflow 314automatically provides a number of recommendations or references, suchas various names of companies (e.g., AT&T 346, British Telecom, CenturyCommunications, etc.), relating to services relating totelecommunications 340 based, for example, on past experiences of othercustomers of the business organization. Further, based on the potentialcustomer's service preferences, geographic location, budget, etc., oneof the recommendations, such as AT&T 346, is selected and subsequently,next 324 is chosen.

Now referring to FIG. 3E, another screenshot 348 is illustrated. Thisscreenshot 348 provides the call back option 350. For example, thesalesperson may ask the potential customer whether they would like to becalled back by someone at the business organization. Based on thepotential customer's response, one of the two or more callback options352 (e.g., yes 354 and no) of the callback option 350 may be selected bythe user. Continuing with our example, in this case, the user selectsthe yes option 354 because the potential customer expressed interestingin being called back. Then, next 324 is selected, which leads to thenext screenshot 356 of FIG. 3F providing the thanks option 358 so thatthe potential customer may be thanked by the user (regardless of whetherthe potential customer agreed upon being called back). Subsequently, theuser may choose the finish option 360 to end the sales visual workflow314.

FIGS. 3G and 3I illustrate a corresponding task and a sales visualworkflow, respectively, which are dynamically and automaticallygenerated in response to performance of the transaction sequence by theuser using the workflow mechanism as shown with reference to FIGS.3A-3F. In one embodiment, by simply going through the transactionsequence of FIGS. 3A-3F relating to a particular business process (usedas an example here) of contacting a potential customer, a correspondingtask (as summarized by open activities 372 of screenshot 362) and aflowchart-based sales visual workflow 388 (corresponding to thetransaction sequence-based sales visual workflow 314) are dynamicallyand automatically generated without having the need to perform softwaredevelopment (e.g., generating code relating to the specific businessprocess) or employ and maintain a dedicated software developmentenvironment or infrastructure.

Now referring to FIG. 3G, it illustrates a screenshot 362 based on theleads option 304 of the main menu. The potential client (also referredto as “lead”), as shown here, is John Doe, as identified in FIG. 3A. Itis further illustrated that a number of options 364 (e.g., edit, delete,convert, clone, etc.) regarding the lead or the account relating to thelead may be provided to facilitate various actions. The screenshot 362further provides lead details 366, such as the lead owner (e.g., salesdepartment), status of the lead (e.g., potential customer), etc., alongwith other relevant information, such as the lead's address information368, and any other additional information 370 (e.g., who created ormodified the lead, when was the lead created or modified, etc.) relatingto the lead account.

In one embodiment, continuing with the example as set forth withreference to the transaction sequence of FIGS. 3A-3F, the user's work increating the sales visual workflow 314 is summarized and provided as atask as set forth in the open activities section 372 of the leadscreenshot 362. For example, the open activities section 372 providesvarious information- and action-based options 376, 378 to be used withregard to the task of calling back 380 the customer as agreed upon bythe potential customer with reference to FIG. 3E. Some of these options376, 378 include immediate actions, such as edit, close, delete, clone,help, etc., relating to the task, status about the task (e.g., as shownby the checkmark and/or the word pending), a deadline or due date (e.g.,Dec. 1, 2011) by which the task is to be performed, a priority (e.g.,normal, high, etc.) assigned to the task, the name of the person (e.g.,Jane Smith) who is assigned to take care of the task, and the like.Similarly, an activity history 374 relating to past activities relatingto the potential customer may be provided for the user's reference.

Now referring to FIG. 3I, it illustrates the interactive flowchart-basedsales visual workflow 388 that is automatically and dynamicallygenerated by the user's transaction sequence of FIGS. 3A-3F relating thebusiness process of sales (more specifically, contacting and bringingon-board a potential customer). The transaction sequence as illustratedby the sales workflow 388 begins by establishing rapport at block 390corresponding to FIG. 3A followed by identifying lead at block 391corresponding to FIG. 3B. At decision block 392, corresponding to FIG.3B, a determination is made as to whether the potential client or leadexists in the system. If the potential client does not exist, the leadis created at block 393; otherwise, the process moves on to selecting an(industry) interest at block 394 as shown with reference to FIG. 3C.Continuing with the process, a reference is selected at block 395 asshown in FIG. 3D and a follow-up is determined at block 396 as shown inFIG. 3E. Corresponding to FIG. 3E, at decision block 397 a determinationis made as to whether the user has agreed upon a call back by thebusiness organization. If yes, the task is automatically created atblock 399 (and as shown in detail with reference to FIG. 3G) andsubsequently, the potential customer is thanked (even if the potentialcustomer disagrees with the call back option) at block 398 as shown inFIG. 3F.

In one embodiment, the sales visual workflow 388 is interactive, such asthe user may click on any of the blocks of the visual workflow 388 toselectively add, delete, or amend any information relating to thepotential customer or any number and type of the transaction sequenceoptions of FIGS. 3A-3F that can be used in generating the visualworkflow 388 and the corresponding task of FIG. 3G. For example, theuser may click on block 390 representing establishing rapport to add,for example, a box to provide extra space for notes 384 as shown withreference to the screenshot 382 of FIG. 3H. As illustrated and comparedwith FIG. 3A, here, the user may add an extra notes box 384 by simply,interactively, clicking on block 390 of the visual workflow 388.Similarly, in one embodiment, the user may interactively click on any ofthe blocks of the visual workflow 388 to make any changes to varioustransaction sequence options to create or amend any number and type ofbusiness processes, as desired or necessitated, without having togenerate software code or employ a dedicated software environment.

FIG. 4 illustrates a method for dynamically and automatically generatingvisual workflows and their corresponding tasks using a dynamic visualworkflow mechanism according to one embodiment. Method 400 may beperformed by processing logic that may comprise hardware (e.g.,circuitry, dedicated logic, programmable logic, microcode, etc.),software (such as instructions run on a processing device), or acombination thereof, such as firmware or functional circuitry withinhardware devices. In one embodiment, method 400 is performed by thedynamic visual workflow mechanism 110 of FIG. 1.

Method 400 begins at block 405 with the workflow mechanism, at a host orserver computing system, receiving a request to perform a businessprocess at a client computing system. In one embodiment, the workflowmechanism may receive either a request from the user or simply identifyor detect the initiation of a process to generate a visual workflow toperform the business process (including, for example, generate or amendthe business process, etc.). At block 410, once the request is receivedor the process is detected, it is then interpreted and a correspondingrecommendation is generated. At block 415, a corresponding visualworkflow is generated based on the interpretation of or recommendationgenerated relating to the request. At block 420, a corresponding taskrelating to the business process is generated based on the visualworkflow. At block 425, the newly-generated task and workflow are usedto perform the business process.

FIG. 5 illustrates a diagrammatic representation of a machine 500 in theexemplary form of a computer system, in accordance with one embodiment,within which a set of instructions, for causing the machine 500 toperform any one or more of the methodologies discussed herein, may beexecuted. Machine 500 is the same as or similar to computing device 100of FIG. 1. In alternative embodiments, the machine may be connected(e.g., networked) to other machines in a Local Area Network (LAN), anintranet, an extranet, or the Internet. The machine may operate in thecapacity of a server or a client machine in a client-server networkenvironment, or as a peer machine in a peer-to-peer (or distributed)network environment or as a server or series of servers within anon-demand service environment, including an on-demand environmentproviding multi-tenant database storage services. Certain embodiments ofthe machine may be in the form of a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC,a set-top box (STB), a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), a cellulartelephone, a web appliance, a server, a network router, switch orbridge, computing system, or any machine capable of executing a set ofinstructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions to be takenby that machine. Further, while only a single machine is illustrated,the term “machine” shall also be taken to include any collection ofmachines (e.g., computers) that individually or jointly execute a set(or multiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein.

The exemplary computer system 500 includes a processor 502, a mainmemory 504 (e.g., read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, dynamic randomaccess memory (DRAM) such as synchronous DRAM (SDRAM) or Rambus DRAM(RDRAM), etc., static memory such as flash memory, static random accessmemory (SRAM), volatile but high-data rate RAM, etc.), and a secondarymemory 518 (e.g., a persistent storage device including hard disk drivesand persistent multi-tenant data base implementations), whichcommunicate with each other via a bus 530. Main memory 504 includesemitted execution data 524 (e.g., data emitted by a logging framework)and one or more trace preferences 523 which operate in conjunction withprocessing logic 526 and processor 502 to perform the methodologiesdiscussed herein.

Processor 502 represents one or more general-purpose processing devicessuch as a microprocessor, central processing unit, or the like. Moreparticularly, the processor 502 may be a complex instruction setcomputing (CISC) microprocessor, reduced instruction set computing(RISC) microprocessor, very long instruction word (VLIW) microprocessor,processor implementing other instruction sets, or processorsimplementing a combination of instruction sets. Processor 502 may alsobe one or more special-purpose processing devices such as an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field programmable gate array(FPGA), a digital signal processor (DSP), network processor, or thelike. Processor 502 is configured to execute the processing logic 526for performing the operations and functionality of dynamic visualworkflow mechanism 110 as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 andother figures discussed herein.

The computer system 500 may further include a network interface card508. The computer system 500 also may include a user interface 510 (suchas a video display unit, a liquid crystal display (LCD), or a cathoderay tube (CRT)), an alphanumeric input device 512 (e.g., a keyboard), acursor control device 514 (e.g., a mouse), and a signal generationdevice 516 (e.g., an integrated speaker). The computer system 500 mayfurther include peripheral device 536 (e.g., wireless or wiredcommunication devices, memory devices, storage devices, audio processingdevices, video processing devices, etc. The computer system 500 mayfurther include a Hardware based API logging framework 534 capable ofexecuting incoming requests for services and emitting execution dataresponsive to the fulfillment of such incoming requests.

The secondary memory 518 may include a machine-readable storage medium(or more specifically a machine-accessible storage medium) 531 on whichis stored one or more sets of instructions (e.g., software 522)embodying any one or more of the methodologies or functions of dynamicvisual workflow mechanism 110 as described with reference to FIGS. 1 and2 and other figures described herein. The software 522 may also reside,completely or at least partially, within the main memory 504 and/orwithin the processor 502 during execution thereof by the computer system500, the main memory 504 and the processor 502 also constitutingmachine-readable storage media. The software 522 may further betransmitted or received over a network 520 via the network interfacecard 508. The machine-readable storage medium 531 may include transitoryor non-transitory machine-readable storage media.

Portions of various embodiments of the present invention may be providedas a computer program product, which may include a computer-readablemedium having stored thereon computer program instructions, which may beused to program a computer (or other electronic devices) to perform aprocess according to the embodiments of the present invention. Themachine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to, floppydiskettes, optical disks, compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), andmagneto-optical disks, ROM, RAM, erasable programmable read-only memory(EPROM), electrically EPROM (EEPROM), magnet or optical cards, flashmemory, or other type of media/machine-readable medium suitable forstoring electronic instructions.

The techniques shown in the figures can be implemented using code anddata stored and executed on one or more electronic devices (e.g., an endstation, a network element). Such electronic devices store andcommunicate (internally and/or with other electronic devices over anetwork) code and data using computer-readable media, such asnon-transitory computer-readable storage media (e.g., magnetic disks;optical disks; random access memory; read only memory; flash memorydevices; phase-change memory) and transitory computer-readabletransmission media (e.g., electrical, optical, acoustical or other formof propagated signals—such as carrier waves, infrared signals, digitalsignals). In addition, such electronic devices typically include a setof one or more processors coupled to one or more other components, suchas one or more storage devices (non-transitory machine-readable storagemedia), user input/output devices (e.g., a keyboard, a touchscreen,and/or a display), and network connections. The coupling of the set ofprocessors and other components is typically through one or more bussesand bridges (also termed as bus controllers). Thus, the storage deviceof a given electronic device typically stores code and/or data forexecution on the set of one or more processors of that electronicdevice. Of course, one or more parts of an embodiment of the inventionmay be implemented using different combinations of software, firmware,and/or hardware.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an environment 610 wherein anon-demand database service might be used. Environment 610 may includeuser systems 612, network 614, system 616, processor system 617,application platform 618, network interface 620, tenant data storage622, system data storage 624, program code 626, and process space 628.In other embodiments, environment 610 may not have all of the componentslisted and/or may have other elements instead of, or in addition to,those listed above.

Environment 610 is an environment in which an on-demand database serviceexists. User system 612 may be any machine or system that is used by auser to access a database user system. For example, any of user systems612 can be a handheld computing device, a mobile phone, a laptopcomputer, a work station, and/or a network of computing devices. Asillustrated in herein FIG. 6 (and in more detail in FIG. 7) user systems612 might interact via a network 614 with an on-demand database service,which is system 616.

An on-demand database service, such as system 616, is a database systemthat is made available to outside users that do not need to necessarilybe concerned with building and/or maintaining the database system, butinstead may be available for their use when the users need the databasesystem (e.g., on the demand of the users). Some on-demand databaseservices may store information from one or more tenants stored intotables of a common database image to form a multi-tenant database system(MTS). Accordingly, “on-demand database service 616” and “system 616”will be used interchangeably herein. A database image may include one ormore database objects. A relational database management system (RDMS) orthe equivalent may execute storage and retrieval of information againstthe database object(s). Application platform 618 may be a framework thatallows the applications of system 616 to run, such as the hardwareand/or software, e.g., the operating system. In an embodiment, on-demanddatabase service 616 may include an application platform 618 thatenables creation, managing and executing one or more applicationsdeveloped by the provider of the on-demand database service, usersaccessing the on-demand database service via user systems 612, or thirdparty application developers accessing the on-demand database servicevia user systems 612.

The users of user systems 612 may differ in their respective capacities,and the capacity of a particular user system 612 might be entirelydetermined by permissions (permission levels) for the current user. Forexample, where a salesperson is using a particular user system 612 tointeract with system 616, that user system has the capacities allottedto that salesperson. However, while an administrator is using that usersystem to interact with system 616, that user system has the capacitiesallotted to that administrator. In systems with a hierarchical rolemodel, users at one permission level may have access to applications,data, and database information accessible by a lower permission leveluser, but may not have access to certain applications, databaseinformation, and data accessible by a user at a higher permission level.Thus, different users will have different capabilities with regard toaccessing and modifying application and database information, dependingon a user's security or permission level.

Network 614 is any network or combination of networks of devices thatcommunicate with one another. For example, network 614 can be any one orany combination of a LAN (local area network), WAN (wide area network),telephone network, wireless network, point-to-point network, starnetwork, token ring network, hub network, or other appropriateconfiguration. As the most common type of computer network in currentuse is a TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol and Internet Protocol)network, such as the global internetwork of networks often referred toas the “Internet” with a capital “I,” that network will be used in manyof the examples herein. However, it should be understood that thenetworks that one or more implementations might use are not so limited,although TCP/IP is a frequently implemented protocol.

User systems 612 might communicate with system 616 using TCP/IP and, ata higher network level, use other common Internet protocols tocommunicate, such as HTTP, FTP, AFS, WAP, etc. In an example where HTTPis used, user system 612 might include an HTTP client commonly referredto as a “browser” for sending and receiving HTTP messages to and from anHTTP server at system 616. Such an HTTP server might be implemented asthe sole network interface between system 616 and network 614, but othertechniques might be used as well or instead. In some implementations,the interface between system 616 and network 614 includes load sharingfunctionality, such as round-robin HTTP request distributors to balanceloads and distribute incoming HTTP requests evenly over a plurality ofservers. At least as for the users that are accessing that server, eachof the plurality of servers has access to the MTS′ data; however, otheralternative configurations may be used instead.

In one embodiment, system 616, shown in FIG. 6, implements a web-basedcustomer relationship management (CRM) system. For example, in oneembodiment, system 616 includes application servers configured toimplement and execute CRM software applications as well as providerelated data, code, forms, webpages and other information to and fromuser systems 612 and to store to, and retrieve from, a database systemrelated data, objects, and Webpage content. With a multi-tenant system,data for multiple tenants may be stored in the same physical databaseobject, however, tenant data typically is arranged so that data of onetenant is kept logically separate from that of other tenants so that onetenant does not have access to another tenant's data, unless such datais expressly shared. In certain embodiments, system 616 implementsapplications other than, or in addition to, a CRM application. Forexample, system 616 may provide tenant access to multiple hosted(standard and custom) applications, including a CRM application. User(or third party developer) applications, which may or may not includeCRM, may be supported by the application platform 618, which managescreation, storage of the applications into one or more database objectsand executing of the applications in a virtual machine in the processspace of the system 616.

One arrangement for elements of system 616 is shown in FIG. 6, includinga network interface 620, application platform 618, tenant data storage622 for tenant data 623, system data storage 624 for system data 625accessible to system 616 and possibly multiple tenants, program code 626for implementing various functions of system 616, and a process space628 for executing MTS system processes and tenant-specific processes,such as running applications as part of an application hosting service.Additional processes that may execute on system 616 include databaseindexing processes.

Several elements in the system shown in FIG. 6 include conventional,well-known elements that are explained only briefly here. For example,each user system 612 could include a desktop personal computer,workstation, laptop, PDA, cell phone, or any wireless access protocol(WAP) enabled device or any other computing device capable ofinterfacing directly or indirectly to the Internet or other networkconnection. User system 612 typically runs an HTTP client, e.g., abrowsing program, such as Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser,Netscape's Navigator browser, Opera's browser, or a WAP-enabled browserin the case of a cell phone, PDA or other wireless device, or the like,allowing a user (e.g., subscriber of the multi-tenant database system)of user system 612 to access, process and view information, pages andapplications available to it from system 616 over network 614. Each usersystem 612 also typically includes one or more user interface devices,such as a keyboard, a mouse, trackball, touch pad, touch screen, pen orthe like, for interacting with a graphical user interface (GUI) providedby the browser on a display (e.g., a monitor screen, LCD display, etc.)in conjunction with pages, forms, applications and other informationprovided by system 616 or other systems or servers. For example, theuser interface device can be used to access data and applications hostedby system 616, and to perform searches on stored data, and otherwiseallow a user to interact with various GUI pages that may be presented toa user. As discussed above, embodiments are suitable for use with theInternet, which refers to a specific global internetwork of networks.However, it should be understood that other networks can be used insteadof the Internet, such as an intranet, an extranet, a virtual privatenetwork (VPN), a non-TCP/IP based network, any LAN or WAN or the like.

According to one embodiment, each user system 612 and all of itscomponents are operator configurable using applications, such as abrowser, including computer code run using a central processing unitsuch as an Intel Pentium® processor or the like. Similarly, system 616(and additional instances of an MTS, where more than one is present) andall of their components might be operator configurable usingapplication(s) including computer code to run using a central processingunit such as processor system 617, which may include an Intel Pentium®processor or the like, and/or multiple processor units. A computerprogram product embodiment includes a machine-readable storage medium(media) having instructions stored thereon/in which can be used toprogram a computer to perform any of the processes of the embodimentsdescribed herein. Computer code for operating and configuring system 616to intercommunicate and to process webpages, applications and other dataand media content as described herein are preferably downloaded andstored on a hard disk, but the entire program code, or portions thereof,may also be stored in any other volatile or non-volatile memory mediumor device as is well known, such as a ROM or RAM, or provided on anymedia capable of storing program code, such as any type of rotatingmedia including floppy disks, optical discs, digital versatile disk(DVD), compact disk (CD), microdrive, and magneto-optical disks, andmagnetic or optical cards, nanosystems (including molecular memory ICs),or any type of media or device suitable for storing instructions and/ordata. Additionally, the entire program code, or portions thereof, may betransmitted and downloaded from a software source over a transmissionmedium, e.g., over the Internet, or from another server, as is wellknown, or transmitted over any other conventional network connection asis well known (e.g., extranet, VPN, LAN, etc.) using any communicationmedium and protocols (e.g., TCP/IP, HTTP, HTTPS, Ethernet, etc.) as arewell known. It will also be appreciated that computer code forimplementing embodiments can be implemented in any programming languagethat can be executed on a client system and/or server or server systemsuch as, for example, C, C++, HTML, any other markup language, Java™,JavaScript, ActiveX, any other scripting language, such as VBScript, andmany other programming languages as are well known may be used. (Java™is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc.).

According to one embodiment, each system 616 is configured to providewebpages, forms, applications, data and media content to user (client)systems 612 to support the access by user systems 612 as tenants ofsystem 616. As such, system 616 provides security mechanisms to keepeach tenant's data separate unless the data is shared. If more than oneMTS is used, they may be located in close proximity to one another(e.g., in a server farm located in a single building or campus), or theymay be distributed at locations remote from one another (e.g., one ormore servers located in city A and one or more servers located in cityB). As used herein, each MTS could include one or more logically and/orphysically connected servers distributed locally or across one or moregeographic locations. Additionally, the term “server” is meant toinclude a computer system, including processing hardware and processspace(s), and an associated storage system and database application(e.g., OODBMS or RDBMS) as is well known in the art. It should also beunderstood that “server system” and “server” are often usedinterchangeably herein. Similarly, the database object described hereincan be implemented as single databases, a distributed database, acollection of distributed databases, a database with redundant online oroffline backups or other redundancies, etc., and might include adistributed database or storage network and associated processingintelligence.

FIG. 7 also illustrates environment 610. However, in FIG. 7 elements ofsystem 616 and various interconnections in an embodiment are furtherillustrated. FIG. 7 shows that user system 612 may include processorsystem 612A, memory system 612B, input system 612C, and output system612D. FIG. 7 shows network 614 and system 616. FIG. 7 also shows thatsystem 616 may include tenant data storage 622, tenant data 623, systemdata storage 624, system data 625, User Interface (UI) 730, ApplicationProgram Interface (API) 732, PL/SOQL 734, save routines 736, applicationsetup mechanism 738, applications servers 700 ₁-700 _(N), system processspace 702, tenant process spaces 704, tenant management process space710, tenant storage area 712, user storage 714, and application metadata716. In other embodiments, environment 610 may not have the sameelements as those listed above and/or may have other elements insteadof, or in addition to, those listed above.

User system 612, network 614, system 616, tenant data storage 622, andsystem data storage 624 were discussed above in FIG. 6. Regarding usersystem 612, processor system 612A may be any combination of one or moreprocessors. Memory system 612B may be any combination of one or morememory devices, short term, and/or long term memory. Input system 612Cmay be any combination of input devices, such as one or more keyboards,mice, trackballs, scanners, cameras, and/or interfaces to networks.Output system 612D may be any combination of output devices, such as oneor more monitors, printers, and/or interfaces to networks. As shown byFIG. 7, system 616 may include a network interface 620 (of FIG. 6)implemented as a set of HTTP application servers 700, an applicationplatform 618, tenant data storage 622, and system data storage 624. Alsoshown is system process space 702, including individual tenant processspaces 704 and a tenant management process space 710. Each applicationserver 700 may be configured to tenant data storage 622 and the tenantdata 623 therein, and system data storage 624 and the system data 625therein to serve requests of user systems 612. The tenant data 623 mightbe divided into individual tenant storage areas 712, which can be eithera physical arrangement and/or a logical arrangement of data. Within eachtenant storage area 712, user storage 714 and application metadata 716might be similarly allocated for each user. For example, a copy of auser's most recently used (MRU) items might be stored to user storage714. Similarly, a copy of MRU items for an entire organization that is atenant might be stored to tenant storage area 712. A UI 730 provides auser interface and an API 732 provides an application programmerinterface to system 616 resident processes to users and/or developers atuser systems 612. The tenant data and the system data may be stored invarious databases, such as one or more Oracle™ databases.

Application platform 618 includes an application setup mechanism 738that supports application developers' creation and management ofapplications, which may be saved as metadata into tenant data storage622 by save routines 736 for execution by subscribers as one or moretenant process spaces 704 managed by tenant management process 710 forexample. Invocations to such applications may be coded using PL/SOQL 734that provides a programming language style interface extension to API732. A detailed description of some PL/SOQL language embodiments isdiscussed in commonly owned U.S. Pat. No. 7,730,478 entitled, “Methodand System for Allowing Access to Developed Applicants via aMulti-Tenant Database On-Demand Database Service”—issued Jun. 1, 2010 toCraig Weissman, which is incorporated in its entirety herein for allpurposes. Invocations to applications may be detected by one or moresystem processes, which manage retrieving application metadata 716 forthe subscriber making the invocation and executing the metadata as anapplication in a virtual machine.

Each application server 700 may be communicably coupled to databasesystems, e.g., having access to system data 625 and tenant data 623, viaa different network connection. For example, one application server 700₁ might be coupled via the network 614 (e.g., the Internet), anotherapplication server 700 _(N-1) might be coupled via a direct networklink, and another application server 700 _(N) might be coupled by yet adifferent network connection. Transfer Control Protocol and InternetProtocol (TCP/IP) are typical protocols for communicating betweenapplication servers 700 and the database system. However, it will beapparent to one skilled in the art that other transport protocols may beused to optimize the system depending on the network interconnect used.

In certain embodiments, each application server 700 is configured tohandle requests for any user associated with any organization that is atenant. Because it is desirable to be able to add and remove applicationservers from the server pool at any time for any reason, there ispreferably no server affinity for a user and/or organization to aspecific application server 700. In one embodiment, therefore, aninterface system implementing a load balancing function (e.g., an F5Big-IP load balancer) is communicably coupled between the applicationservers 700 and the user systems 612 to distribute requests to theapplication servers 700. In one embodiment, the load balancer uses aleast connections algorithm to route user requests to the applicationservers 700. Other examples of load balancing algorithms, such as roundrobin and observed response time, also can be used. For example, incertain embodiments, three consecutive requests from the same user couldhit three different application servers 700, and three requests fromdifferent users could hit the same application server 700. In thismanner, system 616 is multi-tenant, wherein system 616 handles storageof, and access to, different objects, data and applications acrossdisparate users and organizations.

As an example of storage, one tenant might be a company that employs asales force where each salesperson uses system 616 to manage their salesprocess. Thus, a user might maintain contact data, leads data, customerfollow-up data, performance data, goals and progress data, etc., allapplicable to that user's personal sales process (e.g., in tenant datastorage 622). In an example of a MTS arrangement, since all of the dataand the applications to access, view, modify, report, transmit,calculate, etc., can be maintained and accessed by a user system havingnothing more than network access, the user can manage his or her salesefforts and cycles from any of many different user systems. For example,if a salesperson is visiting a customer and the customer has Internetaccess in their lobby, the salesperson can obtain critical updates as tothat customer while waiting for the customer to arrive in the lobby.

While each user's data might be separate from other users' dataregardless of the employers of each user, some data might beorganization-wide data shared or accessible by a plurality of users orall of the users for a given organization that is a tenant. Thus, theremight be some data structures managed by system 616 that are allocatedat the tenant level while other data structures might be managed at theuser level. Because an MTS might support multiple tenants includingpossible competitors, the MTS should have security protocols that keepdata, applications, and application use separate. Also, because manytenants may opt for access to an MTS rather than maintain their ownsystem, redundancy, up-time, and backup are additional functions thatmay be implemented in the MTS. In addition to user-specific data andtenant specific data, system 616 might also maintain system level datausable by multiple tenants or other data. Such system level data mightinclude industry reports, news, postings, and the like that are sharableamong tenants.

In certain embodiments, user systems 612 (which may be client systems)communicate with application servers 700 to request and updatesystem-level and tenant-level data from system 616 that may requiresending one or more queries to tenant data storage 622 and/or systemdata storage 624. System 616 (e.g., an application server 700 in system616) automatically generates one or more SQL statements (e.g., one ormore SQL queries) that are designed to access the desired information.System data storage 624 may generate query plans to access the requesteddata from the database.

Each database can generally be viewed as a collection of objects, suchas a set of logical tables, containing data fitted into predefinedcategories. A “table” is one representation of a data object, and may beused herein to simplify the conceptual description of objects and customobjects. It should be understood that “table” and “object” may be usedinterchangeably herein. Each table generally contains one or more datacategories logically arranged as columns or fields in a viewable schema.Each row or record of a table contains an instance of data for eachcategory defined by the fields. For example, a CRM database may includea table that describes a customer with fields for basic contactinformation such as name, address, phone number, fax number, etc.Another table might describe a purchase order, including fields forinformation such as customer, product, sale price, date, etc. In somemulti-tenant database systems, standard entity tables might be providedfor use by all tenants. For CRM database applications, such standardentities might include tables for Account, Contact, Lead, andOpportunity data, each containing pre-defined fields. It should beunderstood that the word “entity” may also be used interchangeablyherein with “object” and “table”.

In some multi-tenant database systems, tenants may be allowed to createand store custom objects, or they may be allowed to customize standardentities or objects, for example by creating custom fields for standardobjects, including custom index fields. U.S. patent application Ser. No.10/817,161, filed Apr. 2, 2004, entitled “Custom Entities and Fields ina Multi-Tenant Database System”, and which is hereby incorporated hereinby reference, teaches systems and methods for creating custom objects aswell as customizing standard objects in a multi-tenant database system.In certain embodiments, for example, all custom entity data rows arestored in a single multi-tenant physical table, which may containmultiple logical tables per organization. It is transparent to customersthat their multiple “tables” are in fact stored in one large table orthat their data may be stored in the same table as the data of othercustomers.

While one or more implementations have been described by way of exampleand in terms of the specific embodiments, it is to be understood thatone or more implementations are not limited to the disclosedembodiments. To the contrary, it is intended to cover variousmodifications and similar arrangements as would be apparent to thoseskilled in the art. Therefore, the scope of the appended claims shouldbe accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all suchmodifications and similar arrangements. It is to be understood that theabove description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive.

1-18. (canceled)
 19. A method comprising: interpreting, at a firstcomputing device, content of a request to perform an organizationalprocess, wherein the organizational process includes a task relating toworkings of an organization, the tasks is facilitated to be performed,via a visual workflow, at a second computing device; and dynamicallyupdating one or more components relating to the visual workflow based onthe interpretation of the content of the request.
 20. The method ofclaim 19, further comprising: performing, at the second computingdevice, the organizational process using the new version of the visualworkflow; and transmitting, from the first computing device, the updatedone or more components to the second computing device such that acurrent version of the visual workflow is upgraded to a new version ofthe visual workflow, wherein the new version incorporates the updatedone or more components.
 21. The method of claim 19, further comprising:automatically contacting the organization in response to a callingrequest embedded in the request; and dynamically recommending one ormore visual blocks capable of being inserted into the visual workflowand displayed via a user interface in response to a block requestembedded in the request.
 22. The method of claim 21, wherein the one ormore visual blocks include one or more of a decision block, a trueblock, a false block, an if-yes block, and an if-no block.
 23. Themethod of claim 19, wherein dynamically upgrading includes automaticallyperforming one or more of adding the one or more components to thevisual workflow, removing the one or more components from the visualworkflow, and revising the one or more components, wherein the one ormore components are transmitted from the first computing device to thesecond computing device over a network including a cloud network. 24.The method of claim 19, wherein upgrading to the new version comprisesrevising the user interface at the according to the updated one or morecomponents incorporated into the new version of the visual workflow,wherein the user interface includes a graphical user interface (GUI).25. The method of claim 19, wherein the task comprises a business taskrelating to a business process of the organization, wherein the businesstask relates to one or more of organizational administration, humanresources, sales, new or existing business methodologies, new orexisting products, and marketing plans, and wherein the first and secondcomputing devices comprise one or more of mobile computing devices,personal digital assistant (PDA), a handheld computer, an e-reader, atablet computer, a notebook, a netbook, a desktop computer, a servercomputer, a cluster-based computer, and a set-top box, wherein theorganization comprises one or more of a business organization, agovernment agency, a non-profit organization, and an educationalinstitution.
 26. A system comprising a memory to store instructionsrelating to a mechanism, and a processing device to execute theinstructions to facilitate the mechanism to perform one or moreoperations comprising: interpreting, at a first computing device,content of a request to perform an organizational process, wherein theorganizational process includes a task relating to workings of anorganization, the tasks is facilitated to be performed, via a visualworkflow, at a second computing device; and dynamically updating one ormore components relating to the visual workflow based on theinterpretation of the content of the request.
 27. The system of claim26, wherein the one or more operations further comprise: performing, atthe second computing device, the organizational process using the newversion of the visual workflow; and transmitting, from the firstcomputing device, the updated one or more components to the secondcomputing device such that a current version of the visual workflow isupgraded to a new version of the visual workflow, wherein the newversion incorporates the updated one or more components.
 28. The systemof claim 26, wherein the one or more operations further comprise:automatically contacting the organization in response to a callingrequest embedded in the request; and dynamically recommending one ormore visual blocks capable of being inserted into the visual workflowand displayed via a user interface in response to a block requestembedded in the request.
 29. The system of claim 28, wherein the one ormore visual blocks include one or more of a decision block, a trueblock, a false block, an if-yes block, and an if-no block.
 30. Thesystem of claim 26, wherein dynamically upgrading includes automaticallyperforming one or more of adding the one or more components to thevisual workflow, removing the one or more components from the visualworkflow, and revising the one or more components, wherein the one ormore components are transmitted from the first computing device to thesecond computing device over a network including a cloud network. 31.The system of claim 26, wherein upgrading to the new version comprisesrevising the user interface at the according to the updated one or morecomponents incorporated into the new version of the visual workflow,wherein the user interface includes a graphical user interface (GUI),wherein the task comprises a business task relating to a businessprocess of the organization, wherein the business task relates to one ormore of organizational administration, human resources, sales, new orexisting business methodologies, new or existing products, and marketingplans, and wherein the first and second computing devices comprise oneor more of mobile computing devices, personal digital assistant (PDA), ahandheld computer, an e-reader, a tablet computer, a notebook, anetbook, a desktop computer, a server computer, a cluster-basedcomputer, and a set-top box, wherein the organization comprises one ormore of a business organization, a government agency, a non-profitorganization, and an educational institution.
 32. A machine-readablemedium carrying one or more sequences of instructions which, whenexecuted by a processing device, cause the processing device to carryout one or more operations comprising: interpreting, at a firstcomputing device, content of a request to perform an organizationalprocess, wherein the organizational process includes a task relating toworkings of an organization, the tasks is facilitated to be performed,via a visual workflow, at a second computing device; and dynamicallyupdating one or more components relating to the visual workflow based onthe interpretation of the content of the request.
 33. Themachine-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the one or more operationsfurther comprise: performing, at the second computing device, theorganizational process using the new version of the visual workflow; andtransmitting, from the first computing device, the updated one or morecomponents to the second computing device such that a current version ofthe visual workflow is upgraded to a new version of the visual workflow,wherein the new version incorporates the updated one or more components.34. The machine-readable medium of claim 32, wherein the one or moreoperations further comprise: automatically contacting the organizationin response to a calling request embedded in the request; anddynamically recommending one or more visual blocks capable of beinginserted into the visual workflow and displayed via a user interface inresponse to a block request embedded in the request.
 35. Themachine-readable medium of claim 34, wherein the one or more visualblocks include one or more of a decision block, a true block, a falseblock, an if-yes block, and an if-no block.
 36. The machine-readablemedium of claim 32, wherein dynamically upgrading includes automaticallyperforming one or more of adding the one or more components to thevisual workflow, removing the one or more components from the visualworkflow, and revising the one or more components, wherein the one ormore components are transmitted from the first computing device to thesecond computing device over a network including a cloud network. 37.The machine-readable medium of claim 32, wherein upgrading to the newversion comprises revising the user interface at the according to theupdated one or more components incorporated into the new version of thevisual workflow, wherein the user interface includes a graphical userinterface (GUI).
 38. The machine-readable medium of claim 32, whereinthe task comprises a business task relating to a business process of theorganization, wherein the business task relates to one or more oforganizational administration, human resources, sales, new or existingbusiness methodologies, new or existing products, and marketing plans,and wherein the first and second computing devices comprise one or moreof mobile computing devices, personal digital assistant (PDA), ahandheld computer, an e-reader, a tablet computer, a notebook, anetbook, a desktop computer, a server computer, a cluster-basedcomputer, and a set-top box, wherein the organization comprises one ormore of a business organization, a government agency, a non-profitorganization, and an educational institution.